Blast furnace iron production with integrated power generation

ABSTRACT

An integrated system for blast furnace iron making and power production based upon higher levels of oxygen enrichment in the blast gas is disclosed. The integrated system leads to; 1) enhanced productivity in the blast furnace, 2) more efficient power production, and 3) the potential to more economically capture and sequester carbon dioxide. Oxygen enhances the ability of coal to function as a source of carbon and to be gasified within the blast furnace thereby generating an improved fuel-containing top gas.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No.60/992,754, filed Dec. 6, 2007, and No. 61/086,237, filed on Aug. 5,2008. The disclosure of these provisional applications is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This particular invention relates to enriching air supplied to acoal-injected iron-making blast furnace and using the flue or top gasfrom the furnace to generate power.

Methods for combining iron production and power generation are describedin “Oxygen blast furnace and combined cycle (OBF-CC)—an efficientiron-making and power generation process”, Y. Jianwei et al., Energy 28(2003) 825-835.

Air Separation Units (ASUs) and methods for making oxygen therein aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,019; hereby incorporated by reference.Methods for combining iron making process with an ASU are described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,582,029 and WO 9728284-A1.

Methods for combining an ASU and power generation are described in“Developments in iron making and opportunities for power generation”,1999 Gasification Technologies Conference, San Francisco, Calif., Oct.17-20, 1999. This publication also describes using coal in ironproduction in order to reduce the amount of coke that is required.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,441 B1 discloses removal of inert gases from flue ortop gas prior to combustion of it in a gas turbine or combined cyclepower plant.

The disclosure of the previously identified patents and patentapplications is hereby incorporated by reference.

There is a need in this art for an integrated system that combines coalgasification and oxygen enriched iron production from a blast furnacewith power generation, and, if desired, carbon dioxide removal andsequestration.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The instant invention solves problems associated with combiningconventional iron production methods with higher efficiency combinedcycle power production from combustion of the top gas by providing anintegrated system based upon maximizing the heat value in the top gas,and simultaneously increasing the productivity of the furnace hot metalproduction. The integrated system includes operating the blast furnacein a manner wherein at least one of the following is achieved: a)pulverized coal injection (PCI) rate is maximized and combined with b)“super-enrichment” of air supplied to the blast furnace with oxygen(e.g., via an ASU, a membrane, among other suitable means for generatingoxygen) where ‘super-enrichment’ of the blast air with oxygen meansenriching the blast to an oxygen concentration above about 32% and up toabout 70% by molar volume (e.g., at least 40% to about 60%), c) steam isadded to the oxygen enriched blast to enhance production of hydrogen aswell as control temperature in the lower part of the blast furnace(e.g., steam can be extracted from the combined cycle (CC) steamturbine), and d) coke consumption rate is minimized to the extent thatit is sufficient to provide support and gas permeability during the orereduction process. The super enriched air (and if desired steam) enhancethe coal gasification in the furnace to produce reducing gases of CO andH2, thus replacing more expensive metallurgical coke. The super-enrichedair also permits at least one of: a) increasing in the amount of coalused in the furnace, b) more complete gasification that increases theconcentration of reducing gases in the top gas, c) improving theiron-making productivity of the given furnace, and d) generating ahigher calorific value, or fuel-containing top gas that can be matchedto a downstream process for maximum efficiency of downstream processoperation (e.g., in some cases, without supplemental fuel).

Maximizing the PCI injection leverages the efficient desulfurizing andenergy converting characteristics of the blast furnace to produce incombination with downstream top gas treatment and conversion processesand equipment at least one of power, syngas, steam, among otherbenefits. The PCI injection can be combined with super-enriched air thatcan obviate the need for the hot blast stoves.

One aspect of the invention relates to iron production and coalgasification that is integrated with combined cycle power generation.

Another aspect of the invention relates to iron production and coalgasification where oxygen injected into the blast furnace is generatedfrom an ASU that is also integrated into the combined cycle gas turbineto provide nitrogen for cooling and mass enhancing, and excesscompressed air from the compressor supplying combustion air to the gasturbine is supplied to the ASU.

Another aspect of the invention relates to iron production and coalgasification that is integrated with combined cycle power generation andcarbon dioxide capture for possible sequestration both of which areenabled and enhanced by the reduced concentration of N2 in the topgasresulting from the use of super enriched oxygen blast. Capturing orremoving carbon dioxide can increase the fuel value of the topgas,reduce the amount of gas to be compressed in subsequent processes,reduce or eliminate the amount of carbon dioxide supplied to the furnacein an optional recycle loop, among other benefits.

A further aspect of the invention relates to iron production and coalgasification that is integrated with combined cycle power generation andcarbon dioxide capture, with the additional inclusion of a shift reactorprior to the carbon dioxide removal and capture step, so as to enablegreater proportions of carbon to be removed and captured.

Another aspect of the invention relates to iron production and coalgasification that is integrated with combined cycle power generation andCO2 capture, taking advantage of the steam generated from the heatcontained in the exhaust from the gas turbine or the nitrogen from theASU to drive the shift reactor or a CO2 removal (e.g., sequestration)process.

A further aspect of the invention relates to iron production and coalgasification that is integrated with top gas cleanup and/or CO2 removalfor production of syngas.

One aspect of the invention relates to a method for producing ironcomprising: introducing iron ore, coke and coal into a blast furnace,whereby the coal is gasified by introducing super-enriched air into ablast furnace, and recovering from the blast furnace a top gas, usingthe top gas to generate power; and, recovering hot metal from the blastfurnace.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a method for generating powercomprising:

providing a top gas, or portion of top gas, from a blast furnacecomprising carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, nitrogen inconcentration such that it has a calorific value matched, withoutsupplemental fuel, to fall within the required fuel value operatingrange of a downstream gas turbine,

introducing the gas into a gas turbine under conditions sufficient togenerate power, and;

introducing the exhaust from the gas turbine into a heat recovery steamgenerator under conditions sufficient to generate power.

A further aspect of the invention relates to a method for gasifying coaland producing iron comprising:

-   -   introducing coal into an ironmaking blast furnace, and;    -   introducing air enriched in oxygen into the blast furnace,    -   wherein the conditions within the blast furnace are sufficient        to convert at least a portion of the coal into a gas comprising        carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen;    -   removing at least a portion of the carbon dioxide from the gas,    -   supplying the gas to at least one of a combined cycle power        generation system, a shift reactor and the ironmaking blast        furnace; and,    -   recovering iron from the ironmaking blast furnace.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of one aspect of the invention thatemploys coal gasification and combined cycle power generation inconnection with Blast Furnace iron production.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of another aspect of the inventionthat employs coal gasification and combined cycle power generation andcarbon dioxide capture and removal (for possible sequestration) inconjunction with Blast Furnace iron production.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of yet another aspect of theinvention that employs coal gasification and combined cycle powergeneration together with carbon dioxide capture and removal (forpossible sequestration) that is enhanced by the inclusion of a shiftreactor prior to the carbon dioxide capture and removal step.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of another aspect of the inventionthat employs nitrogen from an ASU to assist in powering a gas turbineand oxygen from the ASU to assist in combusting at least a portion ofthe top gas in a HRSG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of further aspect of the inventionthat employs a gas holder to dampen flow and pressure variations in thetop gas, and where at least a portion of the treated top gas is directedaround the gas turbine to the HRSG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of one aspect of the invention thatemploys stoves to provide a blast wherein a portion of the blast isprovided by i) air extracted from the compressor feeding combustion airto the gas turbine, ii) exhaust from the gas turbine, or iii) both.

The apparatus, components, systems and methods illustrated in theseFigures can be employed individually or in combination to obtainadditional aspects of the invention that are not illustrated by theFigures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The instant invention relates to apparatus, processes and compositionsfor providing an integrated system that utilizes oxygen enrichment ofair supplied to a blast furnace (e.g., via an ASU) to efficientlycombine coal gasification and blast furnace iron production. Theintegrated system gasifies coal in situ within the iron blast furnaceand produces a flue or furnace top-gas having improved utility for powergeneration and, if desired, from which carbon dioxide can removed andsequestered.

Additional oxygen beyond that which is normally supplied to the airblast is either directly injected or combined with the blast air beingsupplied to the blast furnace to enhance the effectiveness of the blastfurnace to accept a relatively large amount of injected fossil fuels,for example coal from a pulverized coal injection system (PCI), and/orto enable more pulverized coal to be injected. Such a PCI system reducesthe amount of coke that is required for iron production in a blastfurnace. In addition, supplying oxygen enriched air to the blast furnacecan produce: 1) a flue or top-gas that has reduced nitrogen content andincreased fuel or calorific value, 2) a top gas that has enhanced valuefor power generation, 3) a top gas that is compatible with gas turbinepower generators, 4) a top gas obtained by in situ coal gasificationwithin the blast furnace, among other benefits. In a marked improvementover conventional methods, the integrated system of the instantinvention obtains a top gas that can have an increased concentration ofhydrogen and carbon monoxide and, in some cases, a reduced amount ofnitrogen.

The instant invention permits controlling and selecting a desiredeconomic base of operation that is achieved by valuing the benefit andcost of the following variables: coke, coal, iron, oxygen, power andstove utilization (i.e., hot blast). For a given cost of coke, oxygenand coal, the optimum value of iron and power can be selected.Generally, increasing the amount of coal introduced into the blastfurnace will increase the amount of oxygen used, but reduce the amountof coke employed and in turn reduce the cost of iron production.Similarly, increasing the amount of coal will also increase the amountof oxygen used and lower the hot blast temperature (e.g., the amount ofheat supplied from the stoves can be reduced), and increase the amountof power that can be generated. Depending upon the relative economicvalue of the foregoing variables, it may be possible to eliminate thehot blast (stoves) and hence use the energy previously consumed by thestoves to generate power, or for operating a water shift reactor, carbondioxide removal, among other systems.

If desired, the oxygen used for enriching air that is introduced into ablast furnace can be supplied from any suitable gas separation systemsuch as cryogenic distillation including an ASU, a membrane (e.g., anion transport membrane), pressure vacuum swing adsorption (PVSA), amongother systems suitable for generating an oxygen containing stream thatcan be used for enriching air. As a result of employing higher levels ofoxygen enrichment, the oxygen enriched blast may be supplied directly toa blast furnace at ambient temperature conditions thereby obviating, ifdesired, the need for hot blast stoves (e.g., stoves that use top gas toheat air prior to introduction to the blast furnace), and permitting theenergy typically consumed by the hot blast stoves to become additionallyavailable for generating power. Information relating to introducingoxygen enriched air into a PCI blast furnace can also be found in A.Poos and N. Pongis, “Potentials and problems of high coal injectionrates”, 1990 Ironmaking Conference Proceedings.

While any suitable ASU can be employed, an example of suitable ASUs arethose supplied commercially by Air Products And Chemicals, Inc.,Allentown, Pa. Suitable ASUs are also described in U.S. Pat. No.5,268,019; hereby incorporated by reference. A gas separation systemsuch as an ASU can produce an oxygen containing stream having an oxygenconcentration of from about 40 to less than about 100% by volume. Anoxygen containing stream from the ASU is blended or combined with air(either heated or ambient) to provide a predetermined concentration ofoxygen to the blast furnace (e.g., from about 35 to up to nearly pureoxygen, but more typically between about 40 to about 70% oxygen). Anoxygen containing stream from the ASU can also be supplied to the ductburner of the HRSG to enhance combustion of relatively low-calorifictopgas (e.g. for improving steam generation). If desired, nitrogenproduced from the ASU can be supplied to a gas turbine (e.g., asdescribed below a gas turbine used to generate power from the blastfurnace top gas), in order to increase the effectiveness of the turbineand to maintain proper combustion temperature and mass flow volume.Similarly, excess compressed air generated by the feed compressor to thegas turbine can be extracted and supplied to the ASU in order toincrease the effectiveness of the ASU, or the compressed air can be usedto supplement or supplant a air that is supplied to the blast furnacestoves (e.g., air that is introduced into the stoves by an air blower).Power generated from a generator driven by a gas or steam turbine can inturn be supplied to the ASU.

If desired, the oxygen enriched air being supplied to a fossil fuelinjected blast furnace can be modified by introducing steam (e.g., steamgenerated in connection with power generation described below). Steamcan be combined with the oxygen enriched air or supplied separately tothe PCI blast furnace. Introducing steam to the blast furnace can havetwo beneficial and simultaneous effects. First, it can be used tomoderate the flame temperature in the lower part of the blast furnacewhich might otherwise be too high due to oxygen enrichment. Second, thereaction of steam with the injected pulverized coal and hot coke presentin the lower part of the blast furnace will increase the amount ofhydrogen (and in some cases carbon monoxide) in the gas produced withinthe blast furnace. This additional hydrogen gas specie can thenparticipate in driving iron reduction while also enhancing the top gascalorific content which, in turn, makes the top gas more useful forpower generation (e.g., in combined cycle power generation). While anysuitable concentration of steam can be employed, typically the amount ofsteam ranges from 10 up to 250 grams/Nm3 of blast volume (e.g., fromabout 50 to 150 grams/Nm3 and in some cases from about 20 to about 60grams/Nm3 of blast volume)

In one aspect of the invention, the oxygen enriched air furthercomprises steam, at least one member selected from the group consistingof carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Oxygen can be obtainedfrom an ASU and carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen obtained byrecycling a portion of the top gas. As a result, a top gas that issubstantially free of nitrogen can be produced. By “substantially free”it is meant that the top gas comprises less than about five (5) percentnitrogen.

The instant invention can permit lowering the temperature of the blast(e.g., comprising heated oxygen enriched air), that is introduced intothe furnace from a typical hot blast temperature of about 1100 to 1150C, to 850 C and in some cases to about 600 C. Generally, a lower blasttemperature will depend upon and employ an increased amount of oxygen.

The temperature of the oxygen enriched air blast-, PCI rate, coke rate,hot metal flow or release rate, and oxygen/steam concentration can becontrolled in order to obtain a top gas having a desired calorificvalue. Typically the calorific value of the top gas will range fromabout 110 to about 170 btu/scf (e.g., the calorific value can varydepending upon the concentration of oxygen used in the air blast suchthat the top gas calorific value may vary from about 110 to about 130btu/scf when the oxygen enriched air comprises about 40 vol. % oxygen toabout 135 to about 170 btu/scf when the enriched air comprises about 60vol % oxygen).

One aspect of the invention relates to removing carbon dioxide from thetop gas. Any suitable method can be employed for removing carbon dioxidefrom the top gas. In one aspect of the invention, the carbon dioxide isremoved by using stripping absorbent beds such those as described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,582,029; hereby incorporated by reference. In anotheraspect of the invention, carbon dioxide is removed by being exposed to asolution comprising MEA (e.g., a solution comprising about 20% MEA),among other suitable solutions. By removing carbon dioxide from the topgas, the instant invention permits controlling the amount of carbondioxide released into the environment as well as provides a top gashaving improved fuel value for subsequent power generation, among otheruses.

If desired, prior to removing the carbon dioxide from the top gas,carbon monoxide in the top gas can be converted to carbon dioxide by ashift reactor. That is, a reactor wherein carbon monoxide and water areconverted into carbon dioxide and hydrogen (e.g., as described in U.S.Patent Application Publication No. US20060188435A1 and U.S. Pat. No.4,725,381A; both hereby incorporated by reference). The carbon dioxidecan be removed in the manner described above and the remaining hydrogenemployed for generating power, purifying petroleum products, supplied toa fuel cell for generating power, among other uses. Alternatively, thetop gas can be converted into ammonia, methanol, among other products,in addition to or instead of being used for generating power.

In another aspect of the invention, the top gas can used for generatingpower. While the top gas can be used in any suitable power generationsystem, an example of a suitable combined cycle power generation systemis disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,441 B1 (hereby incorporated byreference). The top gas can be combusted in a gas turbine and/or a heatrecovery steam generator in order to generate power. If desired, carbondioxide can be removed (and, if desired, sequestered, used in subsequentchemical processes, among other uses), from the top gas prior tointroducing the top gas to the power generation system. Capturing CO2prior to combustion is much more desirable than capturing CO2 from theexhaust gas of the HRSG where the CO2 content of the gas would be moredilute and the exhaust gas would contain O2.

In one aspect of the invention, exhaust emitted from the powergeneration system is substantially free of carbon dioxide. By“substantially free” of carbon dioxide it is meant that the exhaustcontains less than about five vol. % carbon dioxide. The exhaust can besubstantially free of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide by employingthe previously described water shift reactor to convert carbon monoxideand water into carbon dioxide and hydrogen prior to the CO2 removalprocess (e.g., a water shift process is performed prior to CO2 removalsuch as illustrated in FIG. 3).

In a further aspect of the invention, a series of gas and steam turbinescan be employed for generating power. The number of turbines, calorificvalue of the top gas, ratios/rates of materials supplied to theturbines, and supplemental fuel gas can be controlled in order tomaximize the economic value of the inventive method and system (e.g., inone aspect to maximize the amount of power generated).

In one aspect of the invention, the power generation system can beoperated without supplying supplemental quantities of fuel gas from anexternal source (sometimes referred to as “trim fuel”). Typically, inthis aspect of the invention the gas turbine and the HRSG will beoperated with less than about ten percent (10%) of the calorific valueof the gas being obtained from externally generated or supplied fuel gas(e.g., natural gas, carbon monoxide, among other fuels). However, theinstant invention does not preclude usage of supplemental fuels.

Certain aspects of the invention are illustrated by the drawings.Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates one aspect of theinvention comprising an integrated iron production and coal gasificationsystem wherein the amount of coke 1 introduced into a blast furnace (BF)2 is reduced due to implementation of a pulverized coal injection (PCI)system 3. Oxygen enriched air is supplied by combining air with oxygengenerated by an air separation unit (ASU) 4. The flue or top gas 5emitted from the blast furnace 2 is collected and cleaned in a gascleaning system 6 (e.g., by cyclone or wet venturi system). Followingthe cyclone and wet scrubbing system, any additional particulates can beremoved from the top gas by additionally passing it through anelectrostatic precipitator 7 making (and ensuring that) it is adequatelyclean for use in compressors and gas turbines. The top gas is thencompressed in a flue gas compressor (FGC) 8 and introduced into a gasturbine (GT) 9 thereby generating power. The combusted top gas/airmixture, released from the gas turbine 9, is then introduced into a heatrecovery steam generator (HRSG) 10 to make steam through thermaltransfer. The steam is passed through a steam turbine (ST) 11 togenerated power. In comparison to traditional burning of blast furnacetop gas in a steam boiler power station, the combination of combinedcycle power generation (i.e., using both gas and steam turbinegeneration of power as described above), can provide more efficientpower production from a given amount of top gas energy.

In the aspect of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 (and other aspectsof the invention), the amount of hot metal 12 produced can be increased.Typically the usage of coke is less than about 300 kg per metric ton ofhot metal and the coal rate is at least about 200 kg per metric ton ofhot metal (e.g., about 0.5 kg of carbon per kg of iron produced).

FIG. 2 illustrates another aspect of the invention wherein the system ofFIG. 1 is modified to include a system 13 for removing carbon dioxideprior to introducing the top gas to the gas turbine 9. While anysuitable system can be used for removing carbon dioxide, one example ofa suitable system comprises the use of a physical solvent such ascommercially available SELEXOL® system to capture and remove the carbondioxide from the stream of gas. Compressed top gas from the FGC 8containing carbon dioxide is introduced to the carbon dioxide removalsystem 13. The removal system 13 receives low pressure (LP) steam andproduces carbon dioxide and water (if desired, the LP steam can besupplied by the HRSG 10). The carbon dioxide can be recovered as aproduct, sequestered, and or submitted for other uses known for carbondioxide (such as for use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR)). In one aspectof the invention, nitrogen as a diluent (e.g., from the ASU 4) can beintroduced at any suitable location such as after carbon dioxideremoval, into the gas turbine 9 for flame cooling in the gas turbine andmass flow enhancement.

FIG. 3 illustrates another aspect of the invention wherein the system ofFIG. 2 is modified to include a shift reactor 14. Typically, the reactor14 is located in the system prior to carbon dioxide removal 13. Thereactor 14 combines steam (e.g., from the HRSG 10), with carbon monoxidein the top gas to produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen. By including ashift reactor 14 in the process flow ahead of the carbon dioxide removalstep 13, more of the carbon-containing gas species are readied forremoval and capture prior to final exhausting of the combustion productsfrom the entire system. By this means, a greater proportion of thecarbon dioxide can be removed in the subsequent system 13 (e.g.,Selexol® process). Furthermore, the increased concentration of hydrogenimproves the fuel value of the remaining gas which can then be used forpower generation, among other uses. If desired, a stream comprisinghydrogen and nitrogen can be obtained from the carbon dioxide removalsystem 13.

FIG. 4 illustrates another aspect of the invention wherein the system ofFIG. 2 integrates the HRSG 10, and the oxygen and nitrogen produced bythe ASU 4 with other components of the system. Nitrogen produced by theASU 4 can be supplied to the PCI system 3 in order to balance mass flow,remove water, among other utilities. Nitrogen produced by the ASU 4 canalso be supplied to the gas turbine 9 in order to enhance theeffectiveness of the turbine. In addition, the effectiveness of the ASUcan be increased by receiving excess compressed gas, if any, exitingfrom the compressor feeding combustion air to the gas turbine 9. Inaddition to the previously described uses, oxygen from the ASU 4 canalso be supplied to the HRSG in order to enhance the effectiveness ofcombustion of any excess top gas (e.g., gas not directed to the gasturbine) within a duct (not shown) leading to the HRSG. Steam from theHRSG 10 can be supplied to the steam turbine 11, blast furnace 2, carbondioxide removal system 13, shift reactor 14, among other uses. Ifdesired, the aspects of the FIG. 3 such as the shift reactor 14 can alsobe incorporated into the system illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 illustrates another aspect of the invention wherein the system ofFIG. 2 employs a gas holder 17. The gas exiting the wet ESP 16 issupplied to the FGC 8 and, if desired, to the HRSG 10 and combustedtherein using oxygen supplied by the ASU 4. Examples of wet ESP systemsare disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,318,857; 6,294,003; 6,110,256;5,039,318; 5,084,072; and 4074983; hereby incorporated by reference.Steam from HRSG is supplied to the steam turbine 11 from generatingpower which can be used, for example, for operating the ASU 4. Ifdesired, the aspects of FIGS. 3 and 4 such as the shift reactor 14 canalso be incorporated into the system illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 illustrates another aspect of the invention wherein the system ofFIG. 2 employs a stove 18 for generating a hot blast that is provided tothe blast furnace 12. At least a portion of the blast air can beprovided by compressed air extracted from the combustion air compressorfor the gas turbine 9. An advantage derives here because the compressedair will already be somewhat heated by the act of compression, and useof this compressed air in feed to the stoves reduces both the thermalenergy input needs of the stoves as well as some of the power needs ofthe blowers used to create the blast. The gas exiting the gas turbine 9can be controlled in order to optimize the value of supplying the gas tothe stove 18 or the HRSG 10, or both. If desired, in addition to orinstead of compress air from the gas turbine compressor, hot exhaustfrom the gas turbine can be supplied to the stoves. Exhaust from the gasturbine is useful in the stoves since the exhaust has an enthalpy valuewhich can reduce the fuel consumed in the stoves. Gas turbine exhaustcan also contain oxygen which can be used in the blast furnace.

While the invention has been described in certain aspects, it isunderstood that the invention is not limited to such aspects and theinvention covers various modifications and equivalents included withinthe scope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for producing iron comprising:introducing iron ore, coke and coal into a blast furnace, whereby thecoal is gasified in the presence of steam and super-enriched air thatare introduced into a blast furnace, recovering from the blast furnace atop gas comprising carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, andnitrogen and using the top gas to generate power; and, recovering hotmetal from the blast furnace; wherein the super enriched air isintroduced into the blast furnace at a temperature of less than about850 C and hot metal is produced at a fuel to iron ratio of greater thanor equal to about 0.5 kg of carbon per kg of iron produced; wherein thesuper-enriched air comprises about 32 to about 70 molar percent oxygen.2. The method of claim 1 wherein the air is enriched with oxygen from atleast one member selected from the group consisting of an air separationunit, ion transport membrane and a pressure vacuum swing adsorption(PVSA).
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the air separation unitcomprises a cryogenic distillation air separation unit.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising removing carbon dioxide from the top gasprior to said using.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the air blast issuper-enriched with oxygen to a level above about 40% oxygen.
 6. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the usage of coke is less than about 300 kgper metric ton of hot metal and the coal rate is at least about 200 kgof coal per metric ton of hot metal.
 7. A method for generating powercomprising: providing at least a portion of a top gas from an ironproducing blast furnace wherein the top gas comprises carbon monoxide,carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen each in concentrations such thatthe top gas has a calorific value greater than about 110 btu/scf,compressing the top gas, removing carbon dioxide from the compressed topgas, supplying the top gas to the gas turbine, and; introducing anexhaust from the gas turbine into a heat recovery steam generator underconditions sufficient to operate a steam turbine.
 8. The method of claim7 wherein the compressed gas supplied to the gas turbine is combinedwith nitrogen.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein: i) the nitrogen isgenerated by an air separation unit (ASU) that supplies oxygen into theblast furnace, and/or ii) oxygen obtained from said ASU is used tocombust a portion of the blast furnace top gas at a heat recovery steamgenerator (HRSG) and/or iii) nitrogen from the ASU is supplied to thegas turbine.
 10. The method of claim 7 wherein an exhaust exiting thesteam turbine is substantially free of CO2.
 11. The method of claim 7wherein at least a portion of the topgas is combusted in the presence ofoxygen from an ASU in a burner of the heat recovery steam generator. 12.A method for producing iron and gasifying coal comprising: introducingiron bearing materials, and coke into a blast furnace, introducing coalinto the iron blast furnace, and; introducing air enriched in oxygeninto the blast furnace, wherein the conditions within the blast furnaceare sufficient to produce iron and convert at least a portion of thecoal into a gas comprising carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen;removing at least a portion of the carbon dioxide from the gas andsupplying the gas to at least one of: i) a combined cycle powergeneration system and supplying steam generated by the combined cyclepower generation system to the blast furnace, and ii) a water shiftreactor to produce hydrogen; recovering iron from the iron blastfurnace; and, wherein the method is conducted in a system comprising: aniron blast furnace and a top gas system for receiving the top gas fromthe iron blast furnace, a coal delivery system that supplies coal to theiron blast furnace, a carbon dioxide removal system that removes carbondioxide from gas received from the top gas system, a combined cyclepower generation system, a steam delivery system for supplying, steamfrom the combined cycle power generation system to the iron blastfurnace; and, an air separation unit and a delivering system forsupplying oxygen from the unit to the blast furnace and nitrogen fromthe unit to the combined cycle power generation system.
 13. The methodof claim 12 wherein the gas is supplied to a shift reactor whereincarbon monoxide and water are converted into carbon dioxide andhydrogen.
 14. The method of claim 12 wherein the air separation unitalso supplies nitrogen and the nitrogen is supplied to at least one ofthe CO2 removing step and a combined cycle power generation system. 15.The method of claim 12 where the furnace is supplied with a mixturecomprising oxygen, steam and at least one of CO, CO2 and H2, and the gasis substantially free of nitrogen.
 16. The method of claim 12 furthercomprising a water shift reactor that receives top gas from the top gassystem and generates hydrogen.
 17. A method for generating powercomprising: providing at least a portion of a top gas from an ironproducing blast furnace wherein the top gas comprises carbon monoxide,carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen each in concentrations such thatthe top gas has a calorific value greater than about 110 btu/scf,compressing and supplying the top gas to the gas turbine, and;introducing an exhaust from the gas turbine into a heat recovery steamgenerator under conditions sufficient to operate a steam turbine;wherein an exhaust exiting the steam turbine is substantially free ofCO2.
 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising removing carbondioxide from the top gas prior to introducing the gas into a gasturbine.
 19. The method of claim 18 further comprising converting atleast a portion of the carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide prior to saidremoving carbon dioxide.
 20. A method for generating power comprising:providing at least a portion of a top gas from an iron producing blastfurnace wherein the top gas comprises carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,hydrogen, and nitrogen each in concentrations such that the top gas hasa calorific value greater than about 110 btu/scf, compressing andsupplying the top gas to the gas turbine, and; introducing an exhaustfrom the gas turbine into a heat recovery steam generator underconditions sufficient to operate a steam turbine; wherein at least aportion of the topgas is combusted in the presence of oxygen from an ASUin a burner of the heat recovery steam generator.